Welcome back to another episode of The Becoming Podcast, all!
I’m delighted to bring you my conversation with writer Cindy DiTiberio today. I’ve been following Cindy’s work on her Substack, The Mother Lode, for quite a while now, and I know you’re going to love our conversation. So many of my clients and the women I connect with are experiencing – or thinking about – the end of their intimate partnerships, and I think Cindy’s wisdom will really resonate with you. This episode is especially for you if it’s your transition into motherhood that has instigated a reckoning in your relationship.
Let me tell you a little bit about Cindy:
Cindy DiTiberio is the author of the bestselling Substack The Mother Lode, a feminist exploration of motherhood, marriage and divorce, and a New York Times bestselling collaborator and editor who has worked in publishing for over twenty years. Cindy’s writing has appeared in The Lily, Scary Mommy, Literary Mama, Mutha Magazine, and more. She was the inaugural guest on The Chamber of Mothers Book Club and collaborated with Eve Rodsky, The Fair Play Policy Institute, and Aaron Thomas on The Fair Play Guide to Prenups and Postnups.
Here’s some of what we talked about in our conversation:
> How MDMA therapy helped Cindy know that she needed to leave her marriage.
> What so often happens to relationships when a couple has a baby. We talk about everything from sex to paternity leave to caregiving and the mental load.
> The feeling of being trapped by oppressive systems of capitalism and patriarchy and how heterosexual couples often end up in traditional, gendered roles without ever intending to. We talk about the role of internalized patriarchy, the devaluing of women’s time, and how both Cindy and I (and so many other mothers we know) ended up squeezing our full time work into part time hours so we could also be primary caregivers.
> How personal growth journeys – whether that’s into deeper spiritual paths or into a feminist awakening – can cause couples to drift apart.
> How the pandemic awakened our culture to the many ways modern hetero partnership has failed women and mothers.
I think you’re going to love my conversation with Cindy. I think it’s so relatable for so many of us who are mothering and perhaps grappling with how to navigate our relationships, whether they’re ending or evolving.
Listen to this episode on iTunes
Show Notes
Cindy’s Substack, The Mother Lode
Book recco’s: You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith; All Fours by Miranda July; Crush by Ada Calhoun
The Math Of Motherhood – Cindy’s writing on unpaid labour and the value of mothers’ time
MotherSHIFT, my 3-month matrescence support program for new mothers
The Village, my 6-month matrescence apprenticeship program for perinatal professionals
Also, while you’re at it, if you enjoy the Becoming Podcast, I would be so grateful if you would rate, review and even subscribe to it wherever you get your podcasts. That goes a long way to helping more and more people find and benefit from hearing these interviews. Thank you so much!